Dozens of employees of the Seminole Hard Rock casino in Tampa travelled to Tallahassee this week in a bid to convince lawmakers of the benefits of a compact negotiated by Gov. Rick Scott and the Seminole Tribe.

Under the terms of the compact, the tribe would pay the state $3 billion over seven years in exchange for the exclusive right to offer Las Vegas-style games such as craps and roulette.

The tribe is also promising to create 4,800 new jobs and preserve existing positions.

If the compact is rejected by the Legislature, however, increased gaming competition from parimutuels could threaten jobs at tribal casinos like the Hard Rock.

"If this compact doesn't go through, we can't go down the street and do this someplace else," said Caroline Higginbotham, a Hard Rock dealer since 2008. "We have to actually leave the state, which we don't want to do because we're happy where we're at and we want to keep our jobs."

Many of Scott's fellow Republicans are taking issue with his plan to use much of the compact's revenue to pay for his contentious $1 billion corporate tax cut package.

"What could happen here, conceivably, if we pass this compact, is we would generate this revenue, but then this revenue could conceivably then immediately go out in a tax cut for, you know, C corporations," Sen. Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater) noted during a recent hearing.

In addition, social conservatives are concerned about the potential for new tribal games to lead to problem gambling, thereby hurting Florida's family-friendly image.

The Senate's Republican leaders plan to roll out legislation to approve the compact next week, but are already downplaying expectations, warning passing the bills could prove difficult.